


Henceforth

by writingwithmolls



Series: My Heart Belongs to (All of) You [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Established Relationship, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex, Just a small bit of hurt, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Spiritual Successor to "Three Cabins"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:39:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmolls/pseuds/writingwithmolls
Summary: Byleth feels lost at times in her long distance relationship, missing Edelgard and wondering if her girlfriend still loves her. All of her fears come to fruition when Edelgard admits she has a crush on Dorothea, her polyamorous roommate and former fling.Time proves that a bit of conversation can go a long way, as Byleth realizes that she adores that her girlfriend loves Dorothea and Mercedes and that she, herself, may be experiencing the same attraction.FE3H Polyship Week Day 4: Compersion/Jealousy/Loneliness
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dorothea Arnault/Mercedes von Martritz, Dorothea Arnault/My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/Mercedes von Martritz, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth/Dorothea Arnault/Mercedes von Martritz, Mercedes von Martritz/My Unit | Byleth
Series: My Heart Belongs to (All of) You [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994713
Comments: 16
Kudos: 27
Collections: FE3H Polyship Week





	Henceforth

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly a big thank you to Lina for all the support this week, and her love for Three Cabins! Revisiting this AU's world was amazing and I'm tempted to do more...

_ “Byleth? We need to talk,” Edelgard had said over the speaker. There was no hesitation, no room to back down. Byleth just cradled the phone to her ear. “I love you.” _

_ “I love you,” Byleth responded, an easy answer. No doubts, no reason to be concerned for the words that were coming next. “What’s up?” _

_ She was doing homework, but she was sure that it could wait, so she tossed her laptop away and lay back in her bed. Long distance was hard at times, the missing warmth of a body next to hers not easily replaced by messages and texts. _

_ “I don’t think my feelings for Dorothea ever went away.” _

_ “O-oh,” Byleth managed, her heart dropping to her stomach. _

_ “I’m sorry.” _

* * *

It didn’t take long until Byleth spotted Edelgard waiting for her outside the gate, regardless of how small she was. Her hair was tucked up into a careful ponytail and she wore slacks with a casual shirt tucked in, heeled boots giving her a couple more inches. After a summer of terribly-marketed t-shirts and no makeup, Byleth still wasn’t used to seeing her girlfriend like this. Not that she ever minded how Edelgard looked… she was perfect in anything and everything.

“How was the flight?” she asked as Byleth approached, shouldering her duffel bag and encasing Edelgard in a hug. Edelgard nearly dropped her purse as she was lifted into the air, a giggle arising as her feet left the ground. Byleth needed the hug, needed to know that they were still them, after all. Her girlfriend kissed her and it all felt right once more, it would continue to be. “I missed you.” She squeezed her even tighter.

“Flight was good, no internet, though, and I have a quiz,” Byleth muttered into her hair. It was her Edelgard, and she had missed her. “Thank you for picking me up.”

“You seem tired,” she said, but she pulled away and kissed Byleth once more before taking her hand. “The sooner we get back to the apartment, the sooner you can take that quiz and go to bed.”

Edelgard led her through the unfamiliar airport, past the shops and restaurants towards the parking lot. The airport in her own hometown had to be a sixth of the size of this one—which could be a shopping mall if it wasn’t for the airplanes. The one Byleth had taken there only had one runway, and the single food stand in it was closed by the time she was waiting to depart. The flight was nowhere near long… only two hours, but the quiet hum of the plane and the excitement and fears of seeing her partner had exhausted her.

“Mercedes was making dinner when I left, there should be plenty because Hubert and Ferdinand aren’t home.”

“You say that like von Aegir lives there,” Byleth said, pushing her duffel bag further up on her shoulder, the pain from sitting at her desk most of the day spiking through her arm.

“He might as well,” Edelgard said, rolling her eyes. “When he and Hubert aren’t out with the Ultimate team, Ferdinand  _ never _ leaves. Half the time he gets there before his boyfriend is even home and Dorothea spends an hour antagonizing him.”

“Is Dorothea happy?” Byleth asked as they finally emerged in the parking garage. The lights were yellow compared to the bright, medical white of the airport and bathed them in a strange aura. So many people were buzzing around trying to find their rides, suitcase wheels rolling over the asphalt. “Happy to have both you and Mercedes at the same place, I mean.”

“She’s very happy.” Edelgard pointed in the direction of where her car was parked. “Even happier that you’re here this week.”

* * *

_ “Byleth?” Edelgard finally asked when she had been quiet for too long. “I’m sorry.” _

_ She didn’t know what her answer  _ could _ be. She had feared losing Edelgard from their first kiss… and now it was happening. “I… don’t really know what to say, honestly.” _

_ “I haven’t done anything to act on it, but Dorothea has been teasing me for weeks about our relationship at camp, and it just feels—I don’t know.” Edelgard groaned on the other end of the phone. Byleth could imagine her lying in her own bed, and she wished that they were having this conversation in person, side by side instead of clutching at their phones. “You know how she is.” _

_ “I really don’t know what you want me to say, El,” Byleth repeated, feeling the anger building, but she tried her best to push it away. Edelgard was being honest, after all. How could she criticize her for trying to communicate with her? She took a deep breath and considered delaying the conversation until later, but she pushed forward. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. It’s just not what I was expecting you to say.” _

_ “I know,” Edelgard said, quiet. “I love you… and I know that me saying this could ruin the whole thing.” _

_ “You aren’t ruining anything.” Byleth racked her brain, trying to think of just a single piece of advice or adage that Dorothea had bestowed upon her about the nature of her own relationships. This was Byleth’s first serious partner—she didn’t want to mess up. “Okay, let’s work this out. Do you  _ want _ to act on the feelings, is the first question, I guess.” _

_ Edelgard exhaled on the phone and Byleth felt terrible that she was holding her breath in the first place. As much as she was upset at the situation, if she learned anything from therapy, it was that the other person might also be feeling the same. She had a habit of rushing to conclusions without hearing those around her. _

_ She couldn’t mess her relationship with Edelgard up. _

_ “I think I do.” Edelgard sounded so small on the phone and Byleth wanted to hold her. “I really can’t tell, I feel so bad, Byleth. I love you but my feelings are so messy right now. I can’t tell if I want to kiss her because you're far away… or if I actually have a crush on her—it’s confusing and terrible, but I want to find out.” _

* * *

“When did Mercedes’s flight get in?” Byleth asked as Edelgard drove. She had offered to do the driving back to the apartment, but Edelgard didn’t want her seat to be moved.  _ And you’ve never driven in a city _ , she had said,  _ I don’t need you mowing down a row of pedestrians _ . 

“Pretty early this morning, Dorothea and I met her at the airport.” Edelgard yawned as if she was thinking about it. “Her flight was overnight… but she wanted to wait up for you.”

“Did you kiss her?”

Edelgard looked to her rearview mirror thoughtfully, before checking her blindspot and switching lines like an expert in the middle of the evening traffic. There was hesitation as she got adjusted in the lane once more, as she considered her next words. The streetlights caught in her silver hair, reflecting off of her hoop earrings. “I did kiss her.”

“I’m happy for you,” Byleth said. There was a small twinge of jealousy, but she followed Dorothea’s advice and just questioned why she was feeling it. She hadn’t been there, and Edelgard didn’t tell her because Byleth was busy fixing things up around the house back at home. It felt better than assuming it was because she didn’t want her partner seeing other people, especially when everyone had been so open and communicative.

It was something new; not something bad.

“She’s very gentle,” she continued, Byleth once again feeling the hesitation. “She likes taking care of others. It’s been nice to have her around today, since we’re so used to just talking over the phone with both of you. It will be even better when you’re there as well.”

“I feel bad that she’s making dinner if she came in so early.”

“We took a nap as Dorothea was finishing up her homework,” Edelgard assured. “It was miserable without you being free to help. I think Hubert ended up feeling bad enough to assist her.”

“She’s good in all her liberal arts classes, what’s with the STEM ones?” Byleth said with a laugh, reaching out to Edelgard and tucking a piece of her hair back that had become loose.

* * *

_ “This was a terrible thing to drop on you at nine in the evening on a Sunday.” _

_ “It was on your mind,” Byleth assured. She had grown significantly more comfortable in the conversation after realizing that Edelgard wasn’t going to leave her. It still felt overly strange, but she wasn’t twenty seconds away from ending up single without warning. “Do you think you’re polyamorous? Like Dorothea and Mercedes.” _

_ “I… don’t know.” Edelgard’s voice was trembling. “I have to worry about my father’s company—it’s already bad enough that I’m gay, I don’t think I can also—” _

_ “If you take all of that out of the question,” Byleth interrupted, not liking her spiraling thoughts. “I guess, if we were in a perfect world where no one would blink at having multiple partners, do you think you would want that?” _

_ A quiet long enough that Byleth thought her phone disconnected. _

_ “Yes.” _

* * *

“Is this your permanent parking spot or do you have to fight over it?” Byleth asked when they had finally gotten back to the apartment, finding a spot in the adjacent garage. She knew that the apartment she shared with Dorothea and Hubert was most likely more expensive than her own family house, but Edelgard had done the right thing to invite her friend from summer camp to move in with them for free. Byleth admired that about Edelgard, her willingness to help others succeed with her.

“We have two spots, Hubert uses the other one.” She pointed to the empty spot. Despite Byleth’s protests, she grabbed her duffel bag from the back and headed in the direction of the elevators. “We’re definitely spoiled, but our fathers wouldn’t let us live in the campus housing. Apparently Garreg Mach Summer Camp wasn’t too grungy for us, but  _ university dorms _ are.”

“I mean, you’ve seen Dimitri’s hall, right?” Byleth recalled, shuddering at the horrifying photos he had sent to all of them. “Maybe your father was right about that one.”

They were quiet once they entered the elevator that would take them up to the main building. Byleth clasped her hands together in front of her, not knowing what to do without her bag. Edelgard fiddled with the strap of the duffel before saying as the floors passed, “Are you nervous, By?”

“A bit,” she admitted.

“I was, too. It was natural with Dorothea… since we had already been romantic with one another, but being in person with Mercedes rather than over text was strange at first. They’re both really encouraging and careful of boundaries. It’s kind of perfect.”

“I’m not very good with people.”

“They adore you.”

* * *

_ They didn’t call what the four of them did “dating,” rather it was them testing the waters. _

_ It started with a general conversation of boundaries; how affectionate they wanted to be between couples and what each person was okay with. While Byleth didn’t really have the option for physicality, all parties agreed pretty quickly that Dorothea and Edelgard should be able to express their affection however they pleased. _

_ Byleth had to admit that she said very little during the conversation. It wasn’t like any of the women were being disrespectful or making her feel uncomfortable, but she was still attempting to wrangle the jealousy blooming in her chest. _

_ The texts were exchanged quickly in their newly established chat: _

_ Mercedes: thea & me are already open… but im good with edelgard and her having sex _

_ Mercedes: capitalize on that beautiful apartment ;-; _

_ Dorothea: u know ;) _

_ Mercedes: I just request pictures from time to time of dorothea…  _

_ Dorothea: alskjdflkasjd amen _

_ Dorothea: byleth and edie ur welcome to talk about this alone—it can be a big step _

_ While Edelgard had not sent a message in reference to it, Byleth typed quickly as she felt her face heat up.  _

_ Byleth: pics of el and you have a deal arnault <3 _

* * *

“Ready?” Edelgard asked before she put the key in.

Byleth took her face in both hands and kissed her, glad for the warmth. “I’m ready.”

Edelgard opened the door, the sound of music coming from the kitchen along with light conversation. Dorothea called out in song, “Edie? That you, darling?”

“I have Byleth!” she returned, letting the duffel bag hit the floor by the door. The living area of the apartment was kept clean, a large row of windows that looked out over the city. Edelgard’s father had paid top dollar for the place, but she couldn’t say that it didn’t suit Edelgard, Dorothea, and Hubert. The TV hummed with a reality show, the image reflecting off of the glass coffee table. “Welcome to the apartment.”

“Thank you,” Byleth said, following her lead when she took her shoes off and lined them by the door. It was mostly women’s dress shoes apart from a couple pairs of men’s. Jackets were hung on the wall as well, and Byleth hooked her hoodie on one of the empty hooks. “God, it smells amazing.”

“That would be Mercedes spoiling us.” Dorothea entered the room, a big smile on her face. She had her hair tied back in a braid and was wearing a cropped shirt with sweatpants. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in  _ forever _ . Is it okay that I hug you?”

* * *

_ “How about kissing you when you come to visit?” Dorothea asked through the webcam as Byleth helped with her homework. They were both sitting at their desks hundreds of miles away, but they still felt together. Dorothea always looked pretty when she was working hard, the way her eyebrows turned down into a scowl when she was stuck on a problem and her vibrancy when she finally understood where she went wrong. As much as she played dumb in an effort to get Ferdinand to do her work… the woman worked hard. _

_ “I—” Byleth swallowed, “wow.” _

_ “You can think about it,” Dorothea said. She played with her pencil pausing to look at the camera. “By… thank you for letting Edelgard explore this part of her and supporting her. When I came out to a past partner—it was terrible. She called me a slut and a cheater. It means more than you can imagine to me that you are trying this at all.” _

_ “It would be more difficult if it wasn’t you,” Byleth admitted. “I felt like I knew you and Mercedes, so it wasn’t as big of a deal.” _

_ “Ah fuck, that’s the wrong answer,” Dorothea growled at her notebook, hastily erasing her work before starting over from the beginning. “I’ve wanted to kiss you—just so you know—for a long time. Before our Edie even brought any of this up.” _

_ It was difficult for Byleth to focus on any of the math problems after she said that. _

* * *

Dorothea was taller than she remembered. It wasn’t like Byleth had let her touch her much during summer camp, but with their arms wrapped around one another, she could barely put her chin on Dorothea’s shoulder. The thought of pulling her into a kiss was entertained for a moment, but she was still terrified in a strange way of asking. With the butterflies’ chaotic fluttering, Byleth let her go.

“Whatever is cooking smells amazing,” Byleth said, sniffing the air.

Her comment was met with a laugh from the kitchen. “Onions.” Mercedes’s voice carried surprisingly well through the apartment, as soft-spoken as she was. Sure, Byleth had a megaphone and a penchant for yelling, but it took a special skill to be as naturally, sweetly authoritative like Mercedes. “Come get dinner!”

“And to the kitchen we go,” Dorothea said, taking Byleth’s hand. “Good?”

Byleth readjusted the grip. “Good.”

“I’m going to drop your stuff in my room.” Edelgard kissed her cheek before Dorothea could pull her away. “Be right back.”

The kitchen was filled with even more wonderful scents as Dorothea proudly presented her to Mercedes. “Our Byleth has arrived!”

“My hands are dirty, give me a moment to get the food on plates,” Mercedes said. She had an apron over her turtleneck sweater, the sleeves pushed up past her elbow. Byleth saw her often on video chat in the kitchen, although she would usually be baking. She looked natural in the kitchen, only second to the ease that she wore her scrubs. “Dorothea, will you give me a hand and grab the rolls from the oven?”

“Anything for you,” Dorothea said, letting go of Byleth’s hand and attempting to snatch a pepper from the sizzling pan as Mercedes shooed her towards the oven. Even though she failed her first mission, she succeeded in stealing a kiss. “Love you.”

“I love you when you’re  _ not _ trying to burn your hand on a pan,” Mercedes rebuked.

Dorothea grabbed a pair of oven mitts and carefully removed the tray while Mercedes gave one last stir of her pan on the stovetop (Byleth didn’t remember telling her that sausage and pepper sandwiches were one of her favorite meals or if it was a coincidence). Byleth didn’t know where she fit in with the scene as the two lovers bantered back and forth with one another, grateful to be in the same room after months apart. So she kept to the counter, hoping for a bit of guidance.

* * *

_ The first few times Byleth ended up in a video call without Edelgard present, she felt like she was cheating. It was silly, but sometimes she felt she was intruding in the private world that Dorothea and Mercedes shared. She would think of how she mistreated them at camp and would fall quiet, fiddling with a string that had found its way onto her bed. _

_ “I can leave if you would like,” she offered once, both Dorothea and Mercedes fading into silence. “I don’t mean to intrude on your time.” _

_ “If we wanted time alone, we would have asked for it,” Mercedes said, beating Dorothea to an explanation. “You’re lovely company.” She yawned, already under the covers after a long shift at work. “I love being able to chat with both of you before going to bed. Although it leaves me longing to be held… you know? Imagine being able to wrap my arms around you, Thea, while Byleth holds me to her chest. Divine.” _

_ “Only the most indulgent fantasies from my love,” Dorothea said with a teasing laugh. “I know there’s more to that.” _

_ “I fear embarrassing Byleth.” _

_ Byleth’s face was already flushed as the two women giggled, flustered at the thought of holding a part of both of their fantasies. _

_ “We should visit,” Byleth said, wanting to play into their dreams. Mercedes’s face lit up, her eyes holding contact with the screen of her phone a little longer. “Edelgard is small, she would be able to fit in.” _

* * *

“A test?” Mercedes asked as she placed the food on the table, pushing aside a stack of papers labeled  _ Ferdie’s shit :/ _ in Dorothea’s handwriting. “We should eat quickly, then. Is it due at 11:59?”

“Unfortunately,” Byleth said, turning towards Mercedes now that she had removed her apron and appeared satisfied with her meal. “A hug?”

“I’m sure we can help you with the quiz,” Mercedes said as she took Byleth’s offer, entwining them together into a hug, one hand gently lacing itself into her hair. Byleth hummed and closed her eyes, realizing that it had to be the first time she had been this close to Mercedes. They felt closer now that they spent every day chatting with one another: getting updates on work and school and how pretty Dorothea or Edelgard looked that day. Byleth was accustomed to her compliments and flirtation, but they had never even embraced. She didn’t know that she could miss a touch that she never experienced in the first place.

“Did I tell you this is one of my favorites?” Byleth asked as they let one another go, taking their seats as the threat of the test period loomed over them. Edelgard had slipped back into the kitchen, wearing a big smile on her face. “This looks amazing, Mercedes. You didn’t have to go through this when you were so tired.”

Mercedes shrugged. “I enjoy cooking for those I love, and this was the first time in a while that I was able to do so for you three. Edelgard told me that you liked sausage and peppers, actually.”

“I just remembered you asking your dad to make it one night,” Edelgard said, waving it off, but Byleth’s heart swelled at the remembrance of such a small detail.

“Perhaps we should save the champagne for  _ after _ the quiz?” Dorothea asked. “...unless if you’re up for hard mode?”

“I have a decent amount of difficulty in this class  _ without _ alcohol,” Byleth said with a laugh. She settled into her spot at the table, glad that there was an ease in the conversation, that their banter transferred so easily to a meal with one another. 

* * *

_ “How about,” Dorothea started, putting down whoever’s tablet she had in her hands to focus on the conversation over the laptop, “Mercedes and I will be careful about boundaries and let Byleth choose to set them however she pleases. Since she’s the most nervous about the situation, it would be best if we gave her control to set the pace and doesn’t feel like she needs to meet any of our expectations.” _

_ “Especially since you and Edelgard have already gotten into your own rhythm,” Mercedes said to her partner, Edelgard and Dorothea crowded onto the same screen as per usual. “We just want you to feel welcome and safe, Byleth.” _

_ Byleth didn’t know how much she needed to hear those words until they rested carefully and warmly against her beating heart. _

* * *

“Your posture is terrible, By,” Dorothea said as she sat on the couch behind her, watching her take the online quiz. Dinner had gone by way too quick, Mercedes insisting that she could come back for seconds if she handed in the quiz on time. Byleth just rolled her eyes, cracking her neck and rubbing at her own shoulders as she hunched over the laptop.

“Online school has ruined my back. My shoulder blades hurt like a bitch.”

“Here, would you like me to work out some of the knots?” Dorothea offered, not touching her just yet, but leaning in closer. “I don’t want to distract you.”

Byleth nodded. “You don’t have to…”

“Anything for my dear Byleth, considering all the calculus homework you’ve done for me this semester,” she said with a laugh and placed her hands on her shoulders, digging into the muscles and immediately drawing a yelp out of Byleth. “Don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not a baby, that just  _ hurt _ ,” Byleth whined.

“You’re a baby,” Mercedes insisted, joining Dorothea on the couch and looking at the laptop. “First one is wrong.”

“It’s not wrong—” Byleth looked once more at the problem. “It’s wrong.”

* * *

_ Mercedes could have a bit of a mean streak when she wanted. _

_ Usually it was in the form of pictures on her days off: Mercedes standing in a full-length mirror with  _ very _ little on—a teasing smirk because she knew she was going to send it to three women who were in the middle of classes. The first time, Byleth had turned off her camera so fast, blinking out of existence on the little glass screen because it wasn’t worth trying to keep a straight face.  _

* * *

“Last question! Last question!” Dorothea cheered and Edelgard chuckled next to her. Edelgard had missed most of the quiz as she cleaned the kitchen, but she then replaced Mercedes’s role as tutor. Dorothea made the best cheerleader, and even if Byleth had gotten some of the questions wrong, she was just glad to have been freed from work for the rest of the long weekend.

“ _ And _ done,” Byleth said as she clicked the submit button, closing her laptop shut and getting up from the floor, choosing to sit on the couch. Her whole body felt warm from Dorothea’s insistent touches on her shoulders. Edelgard returned to the kitchen to put away the last of the dishes and Mercedes momentarily came in, turning the television on as she congratulated Byleth, and disappeared back into the apartment.

Byleth adored the comings and goings of the girls. Her own house could get so quiet at times and her dad had a habit of locking himself in his office for too many hours of the day. It was blissful to have others buzzing around her… especially when it was the three. It was a freeing feeling that Byleth couldn’t name.

“I’m freezing and you’re a space heater, can I lean on you?” Dorothea asked, barely waiting for Byleth’s nod before she curled up, leaning her head on her shoulder. Byleth put an arm around her and pulled her closer. Her skin was cold against hers, her hands freezing. She found herself playing with Dorothea’s curls, listening to her sigh and her breathing slow.

“Is that my only job?” Byleth asked with a light laugh and Dorothea hummed in response. “I feel so loved.”

“You’re very loved,” Dorothea assured, and Byleth was glad that her eyes were closed so that the girl wouldn’t see her blushing. It had been easy to deflect all her flirtatious comments until she found herself  _ interested _ . It was no wonder that her girlfriend had fallen for her charms not once, but twice.

“I’m glad we have a week,” Edelgard said as she returned from putting away the dishes, leaning over the back of the couch and resting her chin on Byleth’s head. It was finally sinking in that she was there: finally in the apartment with Edelgard and Dorothea and Mercedes. Byleth tilted her head back and received a kiss, Edelgard sliding around and curling up on her other side. “What are you watching?”

“Truthfully? No clue,” Dorothea said with a laugh, looking to the new arrival. “Merce put it on and left.”

“I think it’s just… House Hunters?” Byleth frowned, only recognizing it as some kind of home improvement show.

“I just like the background noise,” Mercedes called from the other room. “Put on whatever you please.”

Dorothea giggled. “Cute.”

Byleth relaxed, trying to calm her fluttering heart. She could feel all her anxieties of Edelgard seeing others beginning to fade at the image of all four of them in the apartment, plucked away from the glaring judgement of the outside world. Without those pressures, what was there to dislike about sitting between two beautiful souls, with a third jokingly calling to them from the other room?

The feelings were beginning to slide together slowly, a glow building up within.

“How terrible, no room for me,” Mercedes teased as she came back into the room, looking at the couch.

“Plenty of space, darling.” Dorothea patted the cushion next to her.

Byleth remembered several conversations she had with Mercedes of how she adored sitting on people’s laps. “My lap is yours if you would like.” 

Mercedes smirked and Dorothea pretended to gasp, snuggling in closer to Byleth. “So smooth, I approve… only the best for my girl.”

Mercedes was soft as she put her legs around Byleth and the warmth felt complete. Her skirt spread out over her legs and she pressed into Byleth, putting gentle hands on the back of her neck. She was worried about messing all of it up, somehow. Of scaring away Edelgard for giving into the desire of the other women. It was a silly sentiment, especially when her girlfriend was the one who had opened their relationship in the first place, but there was still a fear of being seen as a cheater.

Mercedes tucked her fingers into Byleth's hair, and she forgot about other people's opinions for the moment.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?" Byleth asked, her throat dry. She couldn't help but stare at Mercedes's lips, then look upwards to the determined look in her eyes.

"I would love to," Mercedes said, moving one of her hands to Byleth's cheek and kissing her with no hesitation. Her lips were as gentle and soft as she imagined, and Byleth decided at that moment it wouldn’t be the last time. She would continue to kiss Mercedes and wondered what it would be like to feel Dorothea’s lips on hers. She wanted to watch Edeglard kiss the other girls, how careful Dorothea was with her and Mercedes urging them both along. Mercedes’s lips were sweet and strong and Byleth wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe.

Byleth wanted to love wholeheartedly and without fear.

She broke away from Mercedes, tempted to hook her arms around her waist and pull her even closer, but unwilling to let go of Edelgard or Dorothea. Dorothea’s laugh and cooing caught her ear, a gentle, “I could watch that all day, darlings.”

“I’m glad that we were both able to visit,” Mercedes said, breathlessly. She grabbed Byleth’s face and kissed her forehead, before leaning down to kiss the top of Edelgard’s head. “You’re so kind and open, Byleth.”

“A beautiful soul,” Dorothea added and Byleth wanted to kiss her for the compliment. It took a second for her to realize that it was within the realm of possibility. Just the thought made her dizzy.

“Dorothea, can we kiss as well?” Byleth asked, rubbing Dorothea’s side as the woman sat up to face her, gazing at her. “I think I’m ready for all of this. I want… I want to explore all of this with each of you.”

Dorothea beamed at her and kissed her as well, a much more playful kiss that tickled her lips. “We have all the time in the world to figure these things out.”

Edelgard was wordless, but she also leaned upwards and kissed her girlfriend, a careful kiss that would never fail to ground her, to remind her who she was and who she wanted to be.

* * *

_ “I want to thank you,” Edelgard’s voice came through her earbuds as Byleth wandered the grocery store, trying to distinguish which box of cereal to throw into her cart. She had been humming along to her music, but she didn’t mind listening to a sweet voice instead. “I miss you so much, but I feel so much more… complete? Whole? That’s cheesy.” _

_ “It’s not cheesy, El,” she said, tossing the box in and continuing down the aisle, leaning on her cart. “Mercie and I were going to have a dinner date on video chat tonight, if that’s okay.” She was going to ask her dad to pick up wine on the way home so it would feel like a real first date. _

_ “That is so cute,” Edelgard said, a chuckle on her end. “We’re okay, right? You and I?” _

_ Byleth thought for a moment, staring up at the light that was threatening to blink out above her, spotting a balloon from the party section that had drifted to the ceiling and stuck at the top and would stay until it ran out of helium. _

_ “By?” _

_ “Oh, got distracted,” she said. “I think we’re more than okay. I… think I love you more because of this. You trusted me with your feelings and—” she smiled at an older lady who passed instead of just keeping her head down and looking away “—you’re  _ so _ happy. And I’m nervous about it, but it’s all worth it to see your smile, from now and into the future.” _

_ “Poetic now, aren’t you?” Edelgard’s amusement was easy to hear. “I love you, By.” _

_ “Love you.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! My name is Molly and I'm an author who writes about wlw <3
> 
> If you like my work, please support me by following @ mollymariewrites on Instagram! There you can find my Twitter, my published work, as well as get updates about my various sapphic own-voices projects! Thank you so much for your help <3


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